Question: It is hard for me to overcome egoism, maybe because I am a woman. I feel when the Creator is near, I have the greatness of the goal, I am drawn forward, and do not need to overcome anything. But when the Creator distances, something needs to be done, maybe some physical actions.

At the same time, it is said that when the Creator moves away, He waits for prayers and requests to get closer to us. Does it mean we must always think about the ten and pray for it?

Answer: Usually, women, as in our world, do a lot of work aiding in the advancement of men. This in no way detracts from their participation in spiritual work. On the contrary, women’s work is Malchut, Bina, and reaching Keter. Keter, Bina, Malchut, all these three components are feminine. The men are Hochma and Zeir Anpin, i.e., the influence of the upper light.

So don’t diminish women’s work in any way although it manifests itself precisely in dissemination, the processing of materials, and all types of help.

A woman, as in our world, is created by nature to maintain, shape, and strengthen our Kli. This is a binding material. It is impossible to do without it. Therefore, the female part is Malchut, this is its primary function.

You need to look at yourself as a woman, and then you will find your application in the correct decision of the women’s group because a women’s group cannot be the same as a men’s group.

Men can be directly connected among them. They run around, bounce, play something. Women cannot be that united. Everyone is on her own; therefore, they unveil themselves when helping the men’s group.

Therefore, we must consider the women’s group as a group that exists alongside the men’s. Although this is gradually being leveled nowadays, as in our lives, we still need to understand this is how the women’s group actualizes itself more. After all, men cannot do without their support.

It is the same in our world. How can a man live without a family and without being served? He is still a child. Therefore, this correct combination is critical in the spiritual movement.

In our world, a woman is a home, a support, an environment from which a person grows, and so it is in the spiritual world. Therefore, the women’s group should be stronger and more numerous than the men’s.

We see this everywhere: a small men’s group and, next to them, a pretty large women’s group. And that is right, that is how it should be. Of course it is not in such a proportion as in our world where there are 5% more women than men, but much more.

In Kabbalah, there are two to three times more women than men because a tree needs a lot of land to grow. This is how their combination should be to help each other in their spiritual realization.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/3/19, Writings of Baal HaSulam “There Is None Else Besides Him”

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Question: While working on ourselves, we begin to feel a sense of responsibility as we realize the value of the left line and learn to cover it with the right. When does this moment of responsibility arise?

Answer: The awareness of such responsibility and the ability to act on it come gradually.

It is one of the stages of our development when we understand that overcoming the egoism that separates us from our friends in the group draws greater illumination from the upper light or, in other words, brings the Creator closer. Therefore all the work lies in achieving closeness.

This is why the Creator shattered the vast vessel (Kli) that He created, which is the soul called “Adam,” from the word “Domeh” (similar to the Creator). This structure broke into countless fragments.

Imagine a piece of dough thrown into a bucket of water. Gradually, the dough absorbs the water, and the water fills its pores. The water, which fills the spaces between the fragments of dough, represents the egoism that pushes us apart.

Initially we were all gathered as one small piece, created by the Creator. Then His force of bestowal and love, the upper light, poured onto this small desire and caused it to shatter into pieces.

Now we must reassemble these pieces along with the water that separates them. By doing so, we will achieve a greater state compared to the original one, as the water that expanded the pieces will now contribute to their unity and allow us to feel the Creator within ourselves.

The water represents the Creator’s attribute, and we must unite with it. The very force that now divides us must be transformed into a connecting one. This process is called the gradual revelation of the Creator within us. It is our purpose and the essence of our development.

Thus, egoism is essential; we simply need to use it correctly.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/3/19, Writings of Baal HaSulam “There Is None Else Besides Him”

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How do I study the actions of the Creator? I imitate them like an infant. I observe what the Creator does.

The upper descends to the lower, He gives me an example, shows me what I should do. Then, I repeat this example.

Indeed, I do this with His help, relying on His strength, but I strive to carry out the examples He shows me. This is exactly how we teach infants. By doing so, I acquire His reason.

The Creator shows me what needs to be done, how, and in what sequence. Absolutely everything I receive comes from above because I myself know nothing. I simply copy these actions and repeat them mechanically because I do not yet have a reason.

This approach is called “Through Your actions, I know You.” I repeat all these actions, and as a result, I gain reason.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/15/19, Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Acting Mind”

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Question: When I receive evil and aggression from a friend, do I just keep quiet and justify it as coming from the Creator, that there is none else besides Him? Can I somehow help my friend rise at this moment so he does not remain in an aggressive state?

Answer: This is a difficult question. Yes and no.

At least, do not respond to him aggressively. And also, not at this moment, but maybe later, show kindness.

Neutrality is mandatory here. Acting with kindness in response to aggression depends on the state your opponent is in at the moment. That is, how will it affect him? Will he take it correctly or not?

Maybe, on the contrary, it will bring out even more aggression in him. He barks at you, but you smile or want to kiss him, then he could hit you!

Therefore, you need to be very careful for your friend to perceive you correctly. You must understand him. You have to enter his state.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/4/19, Preparation for convention in Moldova “The Work in Concealment”

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I must always pray for the ten because it is my soul. From the spiritual point of view, I am nothing on my own; the upper light can only bounce off me.

When it shines on me, I feel either attraction to it or positive or negative suffering, but I cannot do anything about it. My conscious action can only come from movement together with those like me. I am obligated to create a structure similar to the light. A structure resembling the light is ten egoists united by a single goal. That is how we act.

It should be noted that women have a way to move forward as follows: if the women’s group unites as much as possible among themselves and, at the same time, helps the men’s group move forward, this constitutes their spiritual work and progress.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/3/19, Writings of Baal HaSulam “There Is None Else Besides Him”

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Question: At the convention, a critical mass will gather, and by physically interacting with it, we will have a wonderful opportunity to “take off the gloves” on one hand.

On the other hand, this mass will help us annul ourselves.

How can we avoid extremes in this state, prioritize one over the other, and maintain balance?

Answer: I think everything begins with immersing yourself in the surrounding environment. You must reach a state where you dissolve into those around you.

Then, to the extent that you can awaken your own feelings while slightly detaching from the surrounding group, you will be able to position yourself in a way where you not only dissolve into them but also desire to inspire them, and thereby will pull them forward.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/3/19, Writings of Baal HaSulam “There Is None Else Besides Him”

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A person must take upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven on the lowest quality, and say about it that to him, even that state, the lowest that can be, meaning one that is entirely above reason, when he has no support from the mind or the feeling, so he can build its foundations on it, and at that time, he is seemingly standing between heaven and earth and has no support, for then everything is above reason, then a person says that the Creator sent him this state, where he is in utter lowliness, since the Creator wants him to take upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven in this manner of lowliness.

At that time, because he believes above reason, he takes upon himself that the situation he is in now comes to him from the Creator, meaning that the Creator wants him to see the lowest possible state that can be in the world.

And yet, he must say that he believes in the Creator in all manners. This is considered that he has made an unconditional surrender (Rabash, Assorted Notes, 21 “Sanctification of the Month”).

When we perceive that something seemingly bad comes from the Creator and believe it, it becomes easier for us, at least, to identify the source of our negative feelings: it comes from the Creator, who has some intention, goal, or path. Even though we feel our states as bad, we justify them, acknowledging that they, too, are necessary because they originate from Him.

However, this is not enough. We must reach a state where, even in the worst circumstances coming from the Creator, we reveal the best possible state, which is good and beneficial.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/3/19, Writings of Rabash “Sanctification of the Month”

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When one works in order to bestow, he does not mind what he feels during the work. Rather, even in a state where he sees a shape of black, he is not impressed by it, but he only wants the Creator to give him strength to be able to overcome all the obstacles.

It means that he does not ask the Creator to give him a shape of white, but to give him the strength to overcome all the concealments.

Hence, those people who want to work in order to bestow, if there is always a state of whiteness, the whiteness does not allow one to continue in the work.

This is because, while it shines, one is able to work even in the form of reception for oneself. Hence, one will never be able to know if his work is in purity or not, and this causes him never to be able to be awarded Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator.

[After all, he lacks a clear understanding of the state he is in.]

For this reason, he is given from above a form of blackness, and then he sees if his work is in purity. This means that if one can be in gladness in a state of blackness, too, it is a sign that his work is in purity, since one must be glad and believe that from above he was given an opportunity to be able to work in order to bestow (Baal HaSulam, Shamati, 42, “What Is the Acronym Elul in the Work?”).

There is none else besides the Creator. The Creator sends us both positive and negative influences, darkness and light. This may be darkness and light in feelings or it may be darkness and light in knowledge and understanding. In either case, we must understand that we work on the contrast between darkness and light, the positive and the negative. Therefore, it is essential for us to understand these two states and exist within them.

That is, I must develop an attitude within myself toward darkness and light, understanding and confusion, good and bad feelings in people, in myself, and in the circumstances, regardless of what and how that allows me to go in the middle line.

In essence, it does not matter what I feel; what matters is that I am directed toward the Creator, for all feelings come from Him. The most important thing is that if I strive toward Him above these feelings, I fulfill my purpose correctly.

The meaning of my actions is to perceive everything as coming from the Creator and as necessary for my spiritual development.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/3/19, Writings of Baal HaSulam “What Is the Acronym Elul in the Work?”

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Question: We as humans have all sorts of emotions: good, positive, and negative. Should we as Kabbalists learn to regulate them and keep them within ourselves?

Answer: We are human and we are emotional beings. Especially when we begin to study Kabbalah, we enter into various states—internal and external stresses and sensations that are sometimes difficult to contain. We suddenly become weak relative to our qualities and confused in some way.

Such incomprehensible changes occur in our hearts and minds that at times it seem like you are losing your mind. These are all natural processes, and the only thing we can do is work on ourselves within the group.

The group is that anchor, the central point where we must constantly strive to achieve balance. So even if I am thrown from side to side, and I feel like I am losing my usual qualities and emotions—it does not matter. We must constantly seek the center of the group to balance ourselves within it. There is no other way.

Can you imagine how much we rise above ourselves when we transition from being an animal to an ordinary human being? What a difference in thoughts and feelings, what a vast leap when you begin to understand what is happening, while the animal cannot hide anything from you. It has no such motivations; everything about it is clear—either it wags its tail like a small dog or it snarls at you. Everything is on the surface.

When we begin to enter the upper world, new qualities develop within us to the extent that we experience heaviness and do not know what to do with it.

This is why a steady group is necessary—to at least call each other daily, meet weekly, and once a month share a meal or do something together. This will balance you.

Of course, you might think: “What can this shared meal do for me?” You cannot imagine how much it balances you internally, spiritually! And under no circumstances should you neglect this.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/2/19, “Questions and Answers”

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A person must say the opposite of what he said to the evil inclination. He should send messengers to the evil inclination, meaning tell the evil inclination that in his work, a person should be just like angels, meaning a Kli [vessel] for the sake of the Creator (Rabash, Assorted Notes, 375, “Jacob Sent“)

Sending messengers to the evil inclination means paying attention to your egoism and assessing how much it has changed as a result of such an attitude toward it—has it strengthened, or on the contrary, may it have completely disappeared?

Question: How can you understand that the evil inclination is telling you that not everything is good with you?

Answer: Only a friend from the ten can show you this.

Question: So should you wait for your friends to arouse you?

Answer: No, you should constantly strive toward the goal so that you can hold on to it more and more strongly every moment.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/8/24, Writings of Rabash “Jacob Sent”

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